Retro Reflection...

So I finally wore this shirt after featuring it on my blog back in December when I got it at thrift store for less than $8. Big steal! I was extremely fortunate to stumble onto to this great find with a delicate layered collar chiffon blouse (which might I add had the price tag stapled to the blouse! I had to meticulously lift the staple so that I wouldn't damage the material). I'm glad that I finally wore it since I always have this thing about not wearing my clothes right after I buy them....

My shoes actually have a mirror as a platform which really came in handy when I had to retouch my lip gloss

Belt: F21

Shoes: Aldo

Pants: Rave

Blouse: Vintage

Purse: AJ Wright

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Kasia Struss for H&M Magazine Spring 2011

Morning Inspiration!!!

 This spread is gorgeous! The red blazer with the structured shoulders reminds me a little of the Balmain pics that I posted yesterday. The emerald green pant suit is calling my name...Love it! For some reason the pics weren't posting to my blog so see more h&m pics here

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Olivier Rousteing Named New Balmain Designer

If you haven't heard already from the rumors circulating around Olivier Rousteing on your twitter feed its true. The 25-year old designer was named the new designer for the Parisian powerhouse, Balmain, founded by the late Pierre Balmain, known for his tough lux edge. Its pretty much the "cool girl's" uniform of spray on tight leather pants, motorcycle jackets, and rock n roll appeal. The shift in designers stemmed from a falling out of the previous designer Christophe Decarnin who left earlier this month due to strategic disputes with chairman, Alain Hivelin. Having worked for Roberto Cavalli for five years, Rousteing will use his experience to continue the brand's rock glamorous influences.

You may not be too familiar with the line Balmain, but I assure you that you have seen a celebrity or two rocking the coveted pieces that made you question which designer are they wearing. If only I could get muster up the nerve to put these pieces on a credit card to rock in a blog post or two...then again, that's just not me...a big spender on an impulsive splurge is something that I won't do. I'd rather be fashion deprived than homeless.........i think.

Sometimes puppies make a person's heart melt, or the laugh of a toddler...I wish I could say the same, but for me its definitely this blazer. Wow that really made me sound like I have an ice sculpture for a heart, but I'm purely *style lusting* Can you blame me?

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Target Tuesdays: Fresh Whites & Denim

Summer is right around the corner and I am extremely excited to jump into my summer wardrobe and start shedding the layers from last season’s brutal winter. But just because the weather is getting a little warmer doesn’t mean you have to place your denim in a storage bin for the winter! For today’s Target Tuesday ensemble, I paired a fresh white spaghetti strap dress with a light denim top that I usually would layer in the colder months. I love the way the white dress brings such a fresh take on a casual outfit.  I also threw on this really cute beaded necklace that I found at Target last week for a tribal look, along with a brown pair of wedges. This outfit is perfect for the girl who plans to attend a summer festival without looking too over dressed. Dress up those summer white pieces with denim and some tribal jewelry for this look!

From now on, instead of listing the items under my pictures, I linked a few thumbnails of the items that I’m wearing so that you can go right to the online store (I couldn’t find the necklace I just purchased online so I substituted it for another one).

Which item will you pick to hang on your Physical Canvas?

                                                            

Fresh Whites & Denim by PhysicalCanvas featuring sandals

Sandal
$29.99 - target.com

Mossimo Supply Co. Juniors Wading Dress - Fresh White : Target
$24.99 - target.com

Multi-Strand Necklace with Lucite Ring - Red (25") : Target
$18 - target.com

Mossimo Supply Co. Juniors Big Shirt - Moonshine : Target
$19.99- target.com

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Turban & A One Piece

This may very well be the follow-up to yesterday's post about the turban trend. Even though I feel as if its been trending forever its always nice to take a stab at it again.

I paired this really cute one-piece vintage pant suit with a colourful turban that I made myself out of material that I originally used for a neck scarf. The fabric is less than half a yard which is perfect for my little head. I've always worn my scarf for years so it was pretty easy for me to wrap. I remember buying this satin pant suit when I attended FIT at an on campus flee market. I miss those vendors!

Belt:Vintage

Clutch:Vintage

Flats: NineWest

One-piece: Vintage

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Turban Trend Debate

*I wrote this post last week... don't ask me why I'm just posting it today :D*

For the last few days the internet has been buzzing with news surrounding celebrity stylist, June Ambrose's new line of turbans in various hues, patterns, and shapes ranging from frontal knots to oversized bows. Ambrose sports playful ways to incorporate the trend in the May issue of Ebony magazine. I thought it was really cute and mildly fitting since Giorgio Armani and Prada featured this look in their Spring 2011 campaigns.

So I went to Ambrose's website to view the chic accessory featured in her Ebony spread and... my heart sank. To my surprise, the turbans featured on her mannequins could easily cost you a pretty penny-that of which I am unwilling to spend. I almost convinced myself that the lining of the fabric must be made with some type of rare gold threading when I glanced at the pricey item (certainly not the case). Don't get me wrong, on occasion, I am will to pay for quality pieces, but if I'm spending between $125-$145 (as the site suggestions) for an item that doesn't provide fabric contents, care instructions, or product descriptions, how can I convince myself that buyer's remorse isn't inevitable? My purse strings just pulled a little bit tighter at such a thought. *gasps* Maybe its my frugality that's deeply imbedded in my shopping habits, but let's review the facts about turbans before fully committing to this chunk of change, shall we?

Turbans are a popular form of headgear worn in the Middle East, North Africa and Southwest Asia. Contemporary turbans come in many shapes, sizes, and colours including Afghan and Indian turbans, but most importantly they have been around for centuries.

Fast Forward >>

Old and young Hollywood quickly adapted the look including Miuccia Prada who introduced the turban trend in 2007 with romantic sweeping dresses on the runways of Fashion Week. As we can see, this look has been trending for quite sometime.

I love the looks of June Ambrose's turbans and respect her but for people to seriously invest in her line it will have to take some serious price reducing to convince the "already skeptic every day woman" to spend such a considerable amount of money. Especially since the popularity of this trend has allowed fashionistas to find it elsewhere for a reasonable amount of money.

What do you think?

I feel so inspired that I think I'm going to do a low cost DIY turban post! 

stay tuned

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Happy Earth Day: Cool Nails & Free Products

 

Today marks the day of world conservation and recycling to help save our planet so I decided to list a few places that would not only help the environment but your pockets as well!


Origins, best known as a high-performance natural skincare line for men and women, has a great promotion tomorrow that allows you to trade in your current skincare products for a limited edition cleanser. Wait, did you hear me? Origins takes your current and past skincare items for the chance to swamp out harsh chemical ingredients for the purity of Origins in a full size cleanser! For FREE. This includes all skincare whether it's half used, empty, or never been used due to a bad product experience. Genius! Just complete the form and bring it in with your product to the nearest Origins store near you. Here are some other free stuff for today:

• Starbucks: Score a FREE cup of coffee or tea when you bring in your reusable mug or tumbler.

• Anthropologie: Celebrate the earth with free craft workshops for the kiddies. 

• Disney Stores: Bring in 5 plastic shopping bags to receive 1 reusable shopping bag.  

• Lowe's: On Saturday, April 23rd pick up a FREE tree!

In honour of Earth Day I painted my nails with blue and green nail polish from my stash of polishes. I did a really easy trick that created a marble effect by dropping a dot of my favourite two colours on each nail and then swirled it around with a nail art brush. Quick, easy, and gets the job done. It kind of reminds me of when I was a kid and I use to make the earth out of blue and green Play-doh! Those were the good days when Captain Planet was the definition of everyone's hero!

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Ode to Odel

Ode to Odel by PhysicalCanvas

While working on a blog post yesterday for “Target Tuesdays” I received word from my mother that a family friend had passed away in his sleep earlier that morning. As a family friend, he was the handy-man that worked in and around our house that many of my friends and family grew up loving and knowing and was easily adopted into the family for his generosity and willingness to always come to the rescue when we needed him. Having recently retired last summer, he was the type of man with a big heart and willingness to do a job even if it meant finishing our basement when it flooded three times, remodeling my aunt’s bathroom, or even trying to build my mom’s dream deck which turned out to be the length of our entire house (whoa and it was a big job but he was determined!) Originally from the south, he was country in all his ways and his accent always made me giggle. He always wore his worn in blue jeans, a flannel, and a basement cap year around for the last 10+ years that I’ve known him.

He was a great man and will surely be missed. The fragility of life is so easily taken for granted…make it a point today to tell someone you care and appreciate them because you just never know….

RIP

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White on Black Sheer

I rarely throw anything away in my closet even if it means that I haven't worn it in a few years-except if it absolutely doesn't fit anymore which ironically is usually never the case since my high metabolism has kept my weight the same... which, might I add has prevented me from growing any hips, thighs, butt definitely butt or other curves that a women may acquire at the peak of those precious adolescent years (and I am wayyy over due).

I found these pics on my desktop that I took a few months ago when I was feeling oh so breezy and fly in this sheer pleated skirt that I've had for over 10 years now. I honestly would consider thinning out my closet but there are some things that trickle right back around in the fashion cycle and I'd hate to have to re-purchase what I know I had 'once-upon-a time.' Wouldn't you? But at this rate I don't know how I will be able to keep up with closet space...my mom is the same way and she has three closets full of beautiful clothes that I still admire. Maybe it's not all that bad....

 What's been hanging in your closet 

since the beginning of time??

 

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Katy Perry for Ghd Campaign

Whenever a company announces a celebrity as the official face their product, it seems as though everyone else is holding their breath for the campaign spread to fully surface before drowning them in a number of praise and accolades. Katy Perry is no exception. Since the singer was named as the official face behind British hair care company ghd, I wondered what concepts her creative team would dream up for the ad since her make-up and costumes in her videos have been very out of the box.  The initial images of the limited-edition ghd hair products revolve around the themes from "New Wave" to "Boho Chic" for a series entitled "Iconic Eras of Style"with highly glamorized shots taken by the uber talented David LaChapelle (<-I bumped into him for a brief moment while he was shooting the intro for the MTV awards years ago, very cool). 


In the spread, she embodies the persona of a 50s bombshell, 70s hippie child, and an 80s video girl with a brightly coloured spandex one-piece and plastic-like accessories. Her shots are so amazing that I completely forgot they were for a hair advertisement. Her nails are amazing too but you can hardly see them and her neon orange skirt is speaking volumes to me... I feel a DIY coming on.

New Wave

Glamour

 Boho Chic

For some reason the last picture really takes me back to summers at my aunt's house...eww plastic covers on sofa couches are not fun during the summer! Other than my side comment, Katy Perry looks great maybe a bit too airbrushed, but great. What do you think?

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v-Style: JessieJ

Ask my significant other, and he'll tell you...I have a HUGE crush on British singer and songwriter JessieJ ever since my friend Shirtona introduced me to her music sometime ago. Lyrically, her voice is magnetic and captivates you from the very moment her vocals shatter the sound barrier to your ear drums. But I admire her even more for her style and confidence that she exudes throughout her music.Yesterday marks the release of her album Who You Are in the US, even though it debuted earlier this year and has already gone platinum in the UK. She's somewhat of a big deal, so pay attention. My favourite songs are "Do It Like a Dude" and "Price Tag" among many others.


I decided to come up with this v-Style idea for my blog (short for "Virtual Style") for artists and celebrities that I would love to dress for an event if given the chance to be their stylist for a day. I can dream, can't I? Looks that I can only imagine styling and creating without the limitations of expensive price tags and a small budget. (Eerily ironic since I just mentioned "Price Tag" as one of my favourites, but you'll see what I'm talking about when you see the item prices below). So naturally, I choose JessieJ to kick start this feature and concocted an outfit suitable for an imaginary record release party in NYC to debut her album in the States. I'm not sure as to what she wore in reality, but this v-Style "rock glam" look is definitely something I can see her wearing on her tour with her iconic red lipstick and body conscious outfits.

RockStar Hair by PhysicalCanvas featuring leather clutches

Thakoon sleeveless vest
$895 - lagarconne.com

Reiss body con skirt
120 GBP - johnlewis.com

Giuseppe Zanotti stiletto shoes
$930 - zappos.com

Leather clutch
$1,995 - alexandermcqueen.com

Leopard print jewelry
asos.com

Forever21.com - Beauty - 1070220535
$2.80 - forever21.com

Tattoo Art Lips 2 - Sticker Giant
$1.99 - stickergiant.com

  Below are some additional pictures if you want to check out her style...she's on my list of Sick Brits that I'm starting to compile. Let's see who else I can find!

WATCH the acoustic version of "Do It Like A Dude" here (the regular version is on her album)


 WATCH "Price Tag" featuring B.o.B here

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